Complete DHS Report for July 15, 2016
Daily Report
Top Stories
• Severe thunderstorms that moved through Missouri and Illinois
July 13 knocked out power to approximately 185,000 customers. – St. Louis
Post-Dispatch
1. July 14,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch – (Missouri; Illinois) No power for 100,000
in Missouri, Illinois after thunderstorms roar through area. Severe
thunderstorms that moved through Missouri and Illinois July 13 knocked out
power to approximately 185,000 customers following strong winds that took down
power lines. Source: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/customers-without-power-as-thunderstorms-roar-across-st-louis-area/article_eda80e52-8d4a-5068-a250-d3fbe29ec316.html
• A fugitive pleaded guilty July 13 to defrauding around 800
investors out of an estimated $65 million in a Ponzi scheme where he and
co-conspirators operated Cyprus Funds, Inc., to sell certificates of deposit
and unregistered mutual funds in Latin America and the U.S. – U.S.
Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio
5. July 13,
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio –
(International) Longtime fugitive pleads guilty to stealing $65 million from
hundreds of people. A fugitive, initially indicted in October 2003 pleaded
guilty July 13 to defrauding around 800 investors out of an estimated $65
million in a Ponzi scheme where he and co-conspirators operated Doylestown,
Ohio-based Cyprus Funds, Inc., to sell certificates of deposit and unregistered
mutual funds in Latin America and the U.S. from 1995 – 1999. Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/longtime-fugitive-eric-bartoli-pleads-guilty-stealing-65-million-hundreds-people
• A six-vehicle crash involving two semi-trucks and four other
vehicles left one person dead, several others injured, and forced the closure
of the westbound lanes of Interstate 84 in Montgomery, New York, for several
hours July 13. – Middletown Times Herald-Record
6. July 14, Middletown
Times Herald-Record – (New York) Police: One person dead, multiple injuries in
six-vehicle crash on I-84. A six-vehicle crash involving two semi-trucks
and four other vehicles left one person dead, several others injured, and
forced the closure of the westbound lanes of Interstate 84 in Montgomery, New
York, for several hours July 13. Source: http://www.recordonline.com/news/20160713/police-one-person-dead-multiple-injuries-in-six-vehicle-crash-on-i-84
• A malfunctioning pumping station at the Amsterdam water
treatment plant in New York caused over 500,000 gallons of sewage to leak into
the Mohawk River July 13. – WNYT 13 Albany
17. July 13,
WNYT 13 Albany – (New York) 500,000 gallons of sewage spill into Mohawk River.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced July
13 that a malfunctioning pumping station at the Amsterdam water treatment plant
in New York caused over 500,000 gallons of sewage to leak into the Mohawk
River. Officials stated that drinking water was not impacted by the spill. Source:
http://wnyt.com/news/mohawk-river-sewage-spill-amsterdam/4198329/
Financial Services Sector
4. July 13,
Courier of Montgomery County – (Texas) Two arrested for
credit card fraud scheme. Two individuals were arrested and charged in
Montgomery County, Texas, July 11 after authorities discovered approximately
100 stolen credit cards and a credit card embossing machine, among other
illicit material in the duo’s vehicle during a routine traffic stop. Source: http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/two-arrested-for-credit-card-fraud-scheme/article_40ce2d27-4b12-53fc-8b70-508008f101e4.html
5. July 13,
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio –
(International) Longtime fugitive pleads guilty to stealing $65 million from
hundreds of people. A fugitive, initially indicted in October 2003 pleaded
guilty July 13 to defrauding around 800 investors out of an estimated $65
million in a Ponzi scheme where he and co-conspirators operated Doylestown,
Ohio-based Cyprus Funds, Inc., to sell certificates of deposit and unregistered
mutual funds in Latin America and the U.S. from 1995 – 1999. Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/longtime-fugitive-eric-bartoli-pleads-guilty-stealing-65-million-hundreds-people
Information Technology Sector
22. July 14,
IDG News Service – (International) Juniper patches high-risk flaws in Junos OS. Juniper
Networks fixed several vulnerabilities in the Junos operating system (OS) used
on its networking and security appliances, including an information leak in the
J-Web interface, vulnerabilities that could lead to denial of service conditions,
a potential kernel crash, a potential memory buffer (mbuf) leak, a crypto
vulnerability, and an issue with SRX Series devices. Source: http://www.networkworld.com/article/3095812/juniper-patches-high-risk-flaws-in-junos-os.html
23. July 14,
Softpedia – (International) Microsoft discovers new version of Troldesh
ransomware. Microsoft Malware Protection Center researchers discovered a
new version of the Troldesh ransomware, also known as Encoder.858 and Shade
Ransomware, that contains new modifications including a dedicated payment
portal where users can get information on how to pay the ransom, utilization of
a Tor Web site, and two new extensions, “.da_vinci_code” and
“.magic_software_syndicate,” which are added to the end of encrypted files. Source:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/microsoft-discovers-new-version-of-troldesh-ransomware-506321.shtml
24. July 14,
Softpedia – (International) Huge spam wave drops Locky variant that can
work without an internet connection. F-Secure researchers examined a July
12 campaign utilizing the Locky ransomware where the group sent out 120,000
spam email messages every 2 hours in 2 instances of activity. Avira researchers
also found that a new Locky variant works in “offline mode,” making it harder
to block. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/huge-spam-wave-drops-locky-variant-that-can-work-without-an-internet-connection-506294.shtml
25. July 13,
IDG News Service – (International) Three popular Drupal modules patch
site-takeover flaws. Drupal, a content management system, worked with three
third-party module maintainers, RESTWS, Coder, or Webform Multiple File Upload,
to address critical vulnerabilities that could allow attackers to take control
of Web sites, including a flaw that allows attackers to execute rogue Hypertext
Preprocessor (PHP) code Web servers that host Drupal Web sites with the
modules, as well as flaws that could lead to remote code execution (RCE). Source:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3095388/security/three-popular-drupal-modules-patch-site-takeover-flaws.html
26. July 13,
Softpedia – (International) Ransomware permanently deletes your files
then has the nerve to ask for money. Cisco Talos researchers discovered a
new piece of ransomware dubbed Ranscam that deletes the victim’s files after
infecting the computer, and removes core Microsoft Windows executables
responsible for the System Restore feature, hard drive shadow copies, and
several registry keys associated with booting into Safe Mode, among other
modifications. Once the removal is complete, the ransomware shows its ransom
note and falsely informs the victim that their files are encrypted and moved
into a hidden partition. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/ransomware-permanently-deletes-your-files-then-has-the-nerve-to-ask-for-money-506289.shtml
Communications Sector
Nothing to report